No money for portable netball court
• By Michael Uugwanga
A few years ago there was talk that the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service, and Netball Namibia were in the process of purchasing a multi-million dollar portable (mobile) rollout netball court specifically for Katutura, however such an idea has seemingly faded away due to lack of funds.
The portable rollout netball court was also meant for basketball since the country does not have adequate basketball courts.
The amount of a mobile netball court is believed to be in the millions of dollars.
The portable rollout netball court is easy to install, easy to store, easily customisable for events and it normally comes in a range of court colours and line marking colours as specified by official International Netball Federation (INF) markings.
The Portable Rollout Netball court also creates a high performance sports surface suitable for international, national, club or community matches where single line marking, bespoke court colour designs, or branding are an event requirement.
Responding to Confident Sport regarding the long awaited portable court, the executive director in the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service, Dr Audrin Mathe said that the line ministry currently does not have the funds to purchase such a court.
“The decision to purchase a mobile rollout netball court depends on the availability of funds. Currently, the ministry is unable to buy due to financial constraints.
“Concerning how much the cost price of the portable court is, it is a matter that should be taken up with Netball Namibia, as they were the driving force behind the whole process”.
Namibia currently does not have a world class netball court, aside from the Patrick Iyambo College netball court in Windhoek, which belongs to the Namibia Police Force (NamPol); where the Debmarine Pent Series was held last week.
Currently, the Wanderers indoor hockey court is being used for the ongoing Africa Netball Cup that started on Monday.
Wanderers has two outdoor netball courts that are however not fit nor suitable to host major competitions such as the Africa Netball Cup.
Other netball courts in the capital are that of United netball courts in Olympia and at Windhoek Gymnasium Private School, just like the rest of the other grounds, they too do not meet the required standards.
The Africa Netball Cup is being contested by host nation Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
The tournament will end on November 16, with Namibia ending its campaign against powerhouse South Africa, while Kenya and Zambia will close of the competition.
The winner of the competition will be crowned Africa’s best netball playing nation.